EFSC planetarium needs $9 million repair, renovation

The Cocoa campus planetarium and observatory has been closed since Hurricane Irma, and will remain so until Eastern Florida State College can come up with $9 million to overhaul the aging, damaged building.

Wochit

Eastern Florida State College's planetarium and observatory will remain closed for the foreseeable future while the college attempts to raise $9 million to repair and modernize the hurricane-damaged facility.

The Cocoa campus building has been closed since Hurricane Irma ripped off portions of its roof last September, allowing significant water intrusion from ensuing heavy rains.

The Eastern Florida State College Planetarium on the Cocoa Campus was damaged by Hurricane Irma and ...more

The Eastern Florida State College Planetarium on the Cocoa Campus was damaged by Hurricane Irma and has been closed since the storm. The college will attempt to secure $9 million to repair and modernize the facility, which boasts the region's largest telescope regularly open to the public.

MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY

The 24-inch telescope is intact. But an engineering study estimated repairs and fixes to various “life safety” issues resulting from the storm and age — including a new roof, air conditioning and fire suppression systems — would cost $5 million.

Upgrades recommended years earlier to outdated technology used for laser light shows and other programs would add another $4 million.

The Cocoa campus planetarium and observatory has been closed since Hurricane Irma, and will remain so until Eastern Florida State College can come up with $9 million to overhaul the aging, damaged building.

Wochit

“Here we are the Space Coast and we’ve got NASA, but right now we’re without a public telescope of any discernible size that people can come and look at,” said Dave Guibert, the society’s president. “I think it’s a loss. It just seems strange not to have a facility this close to where they launch rockets and probes into deep space and to the planets.”

The planetarium and observatory on Eastern Florida State College's Cocoa campus has been closed ...more

The planetarium and observatory on Eastern Florida State College's Cocoa campus has been closed indefinitely to assess damage from Hurricane Irma.

James Dean/FLORIDA TODAY

The Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne hosts the 32-inch Ortega telescope, which opens monthly following a public science lecture series. The University of Central Florida also hosts occasional “Knights under the stars” events.

Guibert said he was pleased to see Eastern Florida working to restore the Cocoa observatory, after rumors immediately swirled after Irma that the college might consider razing the facility.

After the storm, the college approached Brevard Public Schools about taking over the planetarium, as it did in 2016 with Delaware North, operator of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Both Delaware North and the school district declined the opportunity because of the substantial investments needed in the aging building.

“We think it’s clearly a unique facility for the community and even the region, which is why we’re taking these additional steps to see if we can’t get the funds that would be needed to do a complete repair and renovation, and make the building new again for long-term use,” said Glisch.

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